For non-white New Yorkers, marijuana arrests more often lead to conviction

People of color in New York City are more likely than white people to face conviction when arrested for marijuana possession following similar arrests, according to data obtained by POLITICO New York from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Instead of convictions, cases with white defendants more often end in adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, where the case is adjourned for a period of time and later dismissed if the defendant isn’t arrested again.

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In New York City in 2016, 15.8 percent of marijuana possession cases involving white people ended in conviction and sentencing, while 32.3 percent of the cases involving black people and and 30 percent of the cases involving Hispanic people ended in conviction. Over that time, 67.4 percent of cases involving white people resulted in ACD, while 56.7 percent of cases involving black people and 59.2 percent of cases involving Hispanic people ended in ACD.

The prosecution disparity does not necessarily mean there is racial bias in how marijuana cases are carried out. Penalties for marijuana violations throughout the city are typically based on an individual's prior offenses, and district attorneys' offices said racial bias could only be determined as a factor if individual arrest histories are first examined.

At least some of the city DA offices have policies that lay out when defendants get an ACD or a violation instead of prosecution and conviction based on whether the defendant has a prior arrest for marijuana possession. In Manhattan, the DA's office recommends an ACD for first time offenders; a potential violation for second, third or fourth arrests; and then a plea to the charge and time served for the fifth arrest. In the Bronx, the DA also offers ACD on the first arrest; a violation instead of a misdemeanor charge on the second arrest; and typically a violation on the third arrest. The Queens DA's office said virtually all first offenses get an ACD.

But even if the disparities could be entirely explained by prior arrest records for marijuana offenses, the gaps highlight further disparities in the city's criminal justice system. People of color in 2016 made up the bulk of people arrested in New York City for marijuana possession, despite surveys showing that whites and blacks use marijuana at roughly equal rates. An American Civil Liberties Union analysis of National Household Survey on Drug Abuse and Health data found that in 2010, 14 percent of blacks and 11.6 percent of whites said they had used marijuana in the previous year. And among people 18 to 25 years old, 33.4 percent of whites and 27.6 percent of blacks reported using marijuana in the past year.

The racial disparities in prosecutions differ by borough, and as each borough has its own district attorney, each can have its own policies on pursuing marijuana convictions.

Brooklyn had the smallest racial disparity of the five boroughs in 2016. During that year, 10.7 percent of marijuana possession cases involving white people ended in conviction, while 18.1 percent of cases involving black people and 17.5 percent of cases involving Hispanic people ended in conviction.

Oren Yaniv, a spokesman for the Brooklyn DA, said in an email to POLITICO New York that the relatively small discrepancy is evidence that there is no bias in the borough, saying that those who are prosecuted, "are treated fairly and equitably, as the numbers clearly demonstrate."

In the Bronx, 9.6 percent of cases involving white people ended in conviction in 2016, compared to 29 percent for cases involving black people and 24.2 percent for cases involving Hispanic people. In Queens, the rate was 12.6 percent for cases involving white people compared to 31.9 percent for cases involving black people and 20.7 percent for cases involving Hispanic people. In Manhattan, it was 23.2 percent for cases involving white people, 50.9 percent for cases involving black people and 45.9 percent for cases involving Hispanic people.

In Staten Island, which had far fewer total cases (256 in 2016 compared to between 2,000 and 5,000 in the other boroughs), 34.5 percent of cases involving white people ended in conviction compared to 45.6 percent for cases involving black people and 37.3 percent for cases involving Hispanic people.

The cases focused on white people were more likely to end in ACD in most boroughs. In the Bronx, 77 percent of cases involving white people ended in ACD, while 60 percent of cases involving black people and 64 percent of cases involving Hispanic people ended in ACD. In Queens, the rates were 79 percent ACD for cases involving whites compared to 63 percent for black people and 75 percent for Hispanic people. In Manhattan, it was 72 percent for cases with white defendants compared to 42 percent for black defendants and 46 percent for Hispanic defendants. And in Staten Island, it was 60 percent for cases with white people compared to 50 percent for those with black people and 59 percent for those with Hispanics.

In Brooklyn, fewer cases involving white people resulted in ACD, though that is mostly because the DA declined to prosecute in a greater share of those cases.

The Bronx DA’s office said race doesn’t enter into decisions about how to handle a case, with prior arrest records taking precedence. The Manhattan DA's office also said individual arrest records would be needed to really see if there is racial bias in how cases are handled. However, officials in the office said that they have done analyses for bias in the past, and the office is conducting another analysis now. The office also pointed to a John Jay study that showed a greater share of marijuana arrests in Manhattan are of people who don’t live in the borough, which could skew the borough's stats.

The Queens DA's office did not respond to follow-up questions about whether they will carry out a similar analysis, but said the office's prosecutors are committed to ensuring justice and their goal is for every defendant to receive equal benefit of the law.

The Staten Island DA's office did not respond to requests for comment.

While marijuana arrests increased in 2016 by 9 percent, the long-term trend has been a substantial decrease in arrests since 2011. Even so, racial disparities in arrests persist. In 2016, 10 percent of the arrests were of white people, while 46 percent were of black people and 39 percent were of Hispanic people, despite similar rates of marijuana usage across demographics.

Marijuana arrests and cases began to decline under former mayor Michael Bloomberg, but the continued decrease under de Blasio is likely the result of an NYPD policy change that followed a change in the Brooklyn DA's office. In June 2014, then-Brooklyn district attorney Ken Thompson announced that his office would no longer prosecute first-time offenders arrested for low-level marijuana possession, in most cases.

De Blasio announced a policy in November 2014 to cut down in arrests for marijuana possession, saying the NYPD, with some exceptions, would not regularly arrest people for having small amounts of marijuana, even in public.

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